The murder of a high school student in the southwestern city of Gwangju has escalated into a major scandal over alleged police corruption and abuse of power, dealing a serious blow to public trust in law enforcement amid the government's push to hand more investigative authority to the police. In response to mounting criticism over the mishandling of the case, the National Police Agency on Thursday announced plans to launch a task force on reform and create an in-house unit dedicated to investigating police misconduct to establish stricter oversight measures. What happened? The killing occurred after the accused in the murder, 23-year-old Jang Yoon-gi, allegedly began to follow Lee Chae-won, 17, on a dimly lit walkway in the early hours of May 5 as she was heading home. Investigators say Jang had parked his car nearby and left the rear passenger door open, then came up from behind her and restrained the victim by the neck. As the student struggled fiercely, he allegedly fatally stabbed her with a knife. Hearing her screams, a male high school student ran to her aid, only to be stabbed as